Remember the Night
by Herm Weasley
Summary: Remus Lupin is starting his first year at Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, despite him being a werewolve. Will he live up the expectations placed upon him?


I sat on the train, looking out the window onto Platform Nine and three quarters. My parents saw my face in the window and waved. I tried to look happy for them and wave back, but it was hard. My stomach was turning knots.  
I had never been away from my parents for more than a few nights, and even those nights didn't really count because I was still at home, locked away in the empty wine cellar. I had never spent the night at a friend's house, never gone to camp. It's hard to do those things when you are a werewolf. But the facts remain - I have never been alone before and now I'm going to a boarding school.  
The train started to pull away from he platform. Parents waved to their children and the children waved back, some even sticking their heads out the windows, yelling their last good-byes. My parents waved again, and I noticed a tear slide down my mother's face. I watched until the station was out of sight.  
The door to the compartment slid open. Until then, I had been the only occupant, but now two boys stood in the doorway. They both had dark hair, and a mischievous twinkle in their eyes.  
"Do you mind if we sit here?" One of them asked.  
I could hardly refuse, as there were clearly seats open. I nodded and the two boys came in, pulling their trunks behind them. They took the seats across from me.  
"Thanks, mate. The only other open seats are with the sixth years," explained the second boy. "By the way, I'm Sirius Black. " He pointed to his companion. "And this is James Potter. We met just a little bit ago on the platform."  
I nodded again. There was a moment's silence while they looked at me. "Oi," said Sirius. "You do talk, don't you?"  
I tried to break a smile, and it wasn't very successful. "I'm Remus Lupin," I said. They smiled. "It's nice to meet you," James said. Sirius took out a deck of cards. "Exploding Snap, anyone?" I declined, but James agreed to play. Half way through the first game, Sirius said, "Where are you from, Remus?"  
"I live outside of Nottingham," I told them.  
"Really?" said James. "I think I have a great-aunt who lives out that way. I live in Godric's Hollow, by the way." I was impressed. Godric's Hollow was a posh magical neighborhood outside London. All the best pureblood families had houses there. "Where do you live, Sirius?" James asked  
"London," he said.  
"How long until we get to Hogwarts, do you think?" James asked.  
"My dad said it takes a few hours to get there. But then, he also said we have to fight a werewolf in order to be sorted, so I'm not so sure he was telling the truth. He likes to kid around a lot, he does."  
I turned my face towards the window when he mentioned the werewolf. The train was speeding along. If it does take a few hours to get to Hogwarts, it must be rather far away.  
"Remus. Hey, Remus!" Sirius was calling my name. When I looked over to him, he looked slightly worried. Impossible, I told myself. We had just met a little while ago. He doesn't know me. Why should he be worried? "Remus?" he said again. "You spaced out on us. Are you okay?"  
I nodded. "I'm fine. I was just thinking."  
"Oh," said Sirius. He did not question me on what I was thinking about, for which I was glad. I was not used to sharing my thoughts with people. I have never had anyone to share them with. It all comes with the territory, I thought. At least at Hogwarts I could pretend to be normal.  
A little while later, a plump women pushed a food cart into our compartment. "Anything off the cart, dears?" she asked us. My mother had given me a little pocket money before I got on the train. I dug around to find enough to buy a chocolate bar; I was still feeling a bit off color from last night's transformation.  
James and Sirius pooled their money together and bought a bunch of chocolate frogs and Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. They offered me a few of the beans, but I declined. I had sworn them off ever since I got that vomit flavored one. I watched James and Sirius devour the chocolate frogs.  
We sat in silence for awhile. James and Sirius eventually tired of Exploding Snap and moved onto a game of wizarding chess. James' pieces were particularly violent, perhaps in an effort to make up for his lack of skill. Sirius won every game, though I could tell he was not much of a chess player himself. I pulled out a book from my bag, Dark and Dangerous Creatures, and began to read.  
I had reached chapter five when the compartment door slid open and a boy entered. He had greasy hair and new robes. His eyes darted around the compartment, looking for a seat. I moved my bag off the empty seat beside me in a silent offer for him to join us. Instead, his eyes stopped at Sirius, never completing the full circuit around to me. "You're Sirius Black," he said.  
My senses, heightened because of the recent full moon, picked up on Sirius's change of mood. His chin lifted defensively and he threw his shoulders back in an instinctive move to appear larger. "What's it to you?"  
The boy looked taken aback, but his expression quickly changed to one of scorn. "My father says that all Blacks carry bad blood."  
Sirius started to lunge at the boy buy James grabbed the back of his robes. "Who are you?" James asked.  
The boy tossed his greasy hair out of his face and looked James in the eye, challenging him. "Severus Snape," he said.  
"Get out!" Sirius snarled. The boy took a step back, then another, and finally turned and slid the compartment door shut behind him. When he was finally gone, James released Sirius's robes and they both sat down. "Greasy-haired git," Sirius said. He did not offer an explanation and James and I did not ask for one. The rest of the train ride past in quiet companionship.  
When we got off the train, Sirius, James, and I were instantly drawn to a large man, who looked to be about seven feet tall. "Fir' years over here!" he bellowed. We made our way through the crowd to the man. I noticed, as I was waiting for the other first years to join us, that the older students were getting into what looked like horseless carriages. Wither that, or the horses were invisible, but I thought that might be a little illogical, to have invisible horses.  
When all the first years were assembled in front of the giant man, he began to introduce himself. "My name's Rebeus Hagrid and I am keeper of the Keys here at Hogwarts. You can just call me Hagrid. If you follow me, we will be crossing the lake. Four to a boat, now! Only four!"  
Sirius, James and I got into a boat together. Another boy joined us, and introduced himself as Peter Pettigrew. He told us he was a muggle-born. At this point, Hagrid bellowed out, "Around this curve here, you'll see Hogwarts!"  
We were quiet in our boat and watched as we came around the bend. When the castle came into sight, everyone gasped. The many towers and turrets were jutting into the sky, and the windows were sparkling with light. Moonlight from the half-risen moon hit the side of the castle and gave it a celestial glow. Suddenly, I was happy for the first time that I had agreed to come to Hogwarts. Surely, something that grand cannot be too bad. Oh, how right I was. A woman in black robes embroidered with the Hogwarts coat of arms met us at the door and introduced herself as Professor McGonagall.  
Professor McGonagell led the first years to a room off of the great hall. We could hear voices from the other, larger, room, laughing and talking. McGonagall called for our attention. "Hogwarts students are sorted into four houses: Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, and Slytherin. You will eat, sleep, and take classes with members of your house. House points will be awarded for you triumphs, and taken away for any disobedience. I suggest you take the next few minutes to compose yourselves before the sorting begins. I will return when the rest of the school is ready."  
As soon as the door closed behind her, nervous whisperings broke out around the room. James began to laugh loudly and boisterously, causing several students across the room to turn and stare. I noticed the greasy- haired boy from the train watching with a sneer on his lips. I turned to Sirius. "What's he laughing at?"  
Sirius shrugged. "Perhaps he's gone bonkers. The stress of the sorting has finally gotten to him."  
"It was bound to happen sooner or later." I clapped my hand over my mouth, my face turning red from embarrassment. How could I have said something so stupid? Back home, the village children would be rolling on the ground in mirth. I apologized for my stupid comment, but Sirius gave me a strange look.  
"I think he's laughing at your hair," he said. I raised my hand to my hair to find it was sticking up. "I saw a muggle with hair like yours," Sirius said, helping my try to flatten it. "Except his was bright pink." James had stopped laughing now, and was also trying to get my hair to stay down. In a final attempt, he spat into his hand and smoothed it over my hair. "That should help," he said.  
"Thanks."  
McGonagall came back into the room and told us to line up by the door that lead into the Great Hall. James and Sirius stood on either side of me as we walked through the stone archway. I could feel the eyes of the school piercing into my back as I watched. A few of the older students snickered as we walked past their table, not believing they themselves had once been as young and naïve as we were. It felt as if everyone knew my secret, even though I knew they could not. Nobody knew, except Dumbledore and me, and I meant to keep it that way, no matter what it took.  
McGonagall appeared in front of the teacher's table and put the three- legged stool down on the flagstone floor. Another teacher placed a battered sorcerer's hat on top of the seat and stepped back. It seemed the Hall itself held its breath, waiting for something to happen. The eyes that had been watching me were now focused entirely on the hat.  
Suddenly a slit opened near the brim, and the hat began to sing. I listened closely as it sang of the four houses and the qualities of each. I felt sure I would be placed in Ravenclaw. I was the top student in the village school; while most of the children were playing with friends in the square, I was studying, rarely venturing to the square when I knew the other children would be there. It was by default only, not by conscious choice, that I became top student. I felt, as I gazed at the faces of the students around me, and particularly at the greasy-haired boy from the train, that the same trend would continue here as well. When the hat finished and closed its brim, McGonagall came forward again, this time holding a scroll, which she unraveled and began to read. "Abbot, Pauly!" she called.  
Pauly Abbot, a blond girl with two long ponytails down her back, walked to the stool, obviously nervous. McGonagall lifted the hat and motioned for Pauly to sit, which she did. McGonagall then placed the hat upon her head and stepped back. A few moments later, the brim cracked open again, and in a loud, ringing tone the hat called out, "Hufflepuff!"  
I sighed with relief. This method of sorting did not seem so terrible as Sirius had made it out to be. There were no monsters, werewolves, or trolls that had to be battled, nor any tests that had to be taken, as one first year had suggested. No, all I had to do was sit on a stool and left the Sorting Hat call out a house. I wondered, briefly, how the hat knew where to place students. It must be a tough job; what would happen if the hat put a student in the wrong house?  
"Black, Sirius!"  
I watched as Sirius swaggered up to the stool and placed the hat on his head. It was large enough to slip down over his eyes; the bridge of his nose stopped it from completely covering his face. It had barely slid into place when the brim cracked open again and the hat shouted, "Gryffindor!" Sirius hopped up from the stool and made his way to the Gryffindor house table, where several people reached over to clap him on the back. He waved jauntily at James and me. I tried to fake a smile and wave back, but my mouth and hand would not go through with the motions. I blanked out for a space of time, not seeing who was sorted into what house. It was only my name being called that broke me from my daze, and James' hand in my back pushing my forward. I staggered, still in a half-daze, to the stool and let the hat slip over my eyes. I sat quietly, waiting for the hat to call out a house.  
I started when I heard a voice in my head that could only belong to the Sorting Hat. "There are brains, for certain. You would do well in Ravenclaw. But what's this? A secret? Only a person of bravery could live with such a secret as this. Gryffindor would help bring out that bravery. Hmm. No thoughts? Then it appears that the best choice would be Gryffindor!"  
I felt, more than heard, the hat shout this last word out to the Hall. The hat was lifted off my head, and I staggered my way to an empty seat next to Sirius at the Gryffindor table.  
"Well done," he said, joining the cheers of the rest of the Gryffindor table. When the cheering stopped, and the next student was called up to be sorted, a red-haired boy across the table leaned over and shook my hand.  
"Welcome to Gryffindor house. I am Arthur Weasley, the prefect in charge of the first years. If you have any questions, come to me. Some people won't be particular enough to give the correct answer," He said, with a glance down the table, but I could not tell whom he was speaking about. Sirius and I watched as James was also sorted into Gryffindor, along with a small, mouse-haired boy named Peter Pettigrew. I noticed the greasy- haired boy from the train had yet to be sorted. When McGonagall called "Snape, Severus!" he walked forward to the stool. The hat barely touched his head before shouting out, "Slytherin!" I followed him as he made his way to the Slytherin table. James and Sirius turned to look at what had captured my attention and, upon seeing Snape, James muttered under his breath, "Git."  
When the last student had been sorted, Professor Dumbledore stood up and the hall became silent once more. "Welcome students!" he said. "As I am sure many of you are aware, Headmaster Dippet retired at the end of last year. I am taking up the position of Headmaster of Hogwarts."  
There was a great deal of clapping and banging on the table at this announcement, but when Dumbledore held up his hand for silence, it came instantly. "There will be a few changes this year. As I must, by necessity, leave my post as Transfiguration teacher, a new teacher has been hired. Professor McGonagall!"  
McGonagall, who had by now resumed her seat at the teacher's table, stood and gave a brief bow. Dumbledore continued, "A new tree has been planted on school grounds. It is a Whomping Willow, and is potentially dangerous if irritated. I caution you to stay away. It should also be mentioned that the Forbidden Forest is off-limits to all students. Now, let the feast begin!"  
He waved his arms and the tables became magically laden with dishes, of all sorts. James grabbed for the treacle tart and ladled a large portion onto his plate. "My mum doesn't make treacle tart," he said in explanation.  
  
I listened to the conversations going on around me. Arthur Weasley was talking to girl beside him, discussing his holiday and the new policies in Muggle protection that the Ministry had passed over the summer. Sirius and James were talking to Peter Pettigrew about their magical backgrounds. When the meal was finished and the dishes cleared away with another wave of Dumbledore's arms, Arthur stood up and called the Gryffindor first years to him. "This way to the common room," he said.  
We followed him past moving pictures and bright tapestries; a staircase moved beneath us as we were ascending. Peter Pettigrew managed to get his foot stuck in a step the older students had learned to leap over and had to be pulled out by James and Sirius. Finally, after what seemed like ages, Arthur stopped in front of yet another moving picture, this time of a fat woman in pink. "Password's Bubotuber," he said, and the portrait swung open. We all crawled through the opening revealed in the wall and entered a room decorated in red and gold, and very little else. A fire crackled merrily, and the comfortable armchairs in front of the hearth were occupied by students. A table by the mullioned window was laden with books, and several girls appeared to be studying.  
"Boys' dormitory is that way," Arthur said, pointing off to one side where a staircase rose into what seemed to be one of the many towers. A duplicate stair and tower were on the other side of the common room, which Arthur pointed to as the girls' dormitory.  
Feet dragging, I pulled myself up the stairs to a door marked "first years." Assuming, and desperately hoping that this was my room, I pushed open the door. My trunk lay at the foot of the bed closest to the window. A table with a pitcher and glasses was on the side closest to the window, and another bedside table was on the other side. Without bothering to change into pajamas, I fell into my bed, closed the drapes, and fell asleep almost instantly. 


End file.
